Today, there is a concern over the depleting resources of silver which is the primary component of silver halide photographic materials. At the same time, the price of silver is very unstable mainly due to the recent soaring of the oil price. It is therefore necessary to minimize the silver content of X-ray silver halide photographic materials so that they can be supplied to consumers at a stable price.
The development of a high-sensitivity X-ray silver halide photographic material having improved granularity is one of the most important objectives in the art. In high-sensitivity radiography for medical applications where the use of silver should be reduced, it is required to minimize the time of exposure to X-rays for information recording, record the information accurately and to facilitate the viewing of the recorded information for the purpose of reducing the dose of exposure to X-rays as well as for minimizing the chance of group exposure. The requirement of reduced silver content also applies to general picture-taking photographic materials, and the development of a high-sensitivity X-ray silver halide photographic material having improved granularity is desired.